Cortical Network Disruption Is Minimal in Early Stages of Psychosis.

Background And Hypothesis: Schizophrenia is associated with white matter disruption and topological reorganization of cortical connectivity but the trajectory of these changes, from the first psychotic episode to established illness, is poorly understood. Current studies in first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) suggest such disruption may be detectable at the onset of psychosis, but specific results vary widely, and few reports have contextualized their findings with direct comparison to young adults with established illness.

Study Design: Diffusion and T1-weighted 7T MR scans were obtained from  = 112 individuals (58 with untreated FEP, 17 with established schizophrenia, 37 healthy controls) recruited from London, Ontario.